Calibration trigger of smartphone spectrometer module using sensor fusion

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for deriving at least one item of correction information, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor (170) comprised by an external device (168) by using a connection interface (166) of the spectrometer device (162); b) comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device (162) for the spectrometer device (162) by using at least one evaluation unit.

Description

[0001] Calibration Trigger of Smartphone Spectrometer Module using Sensor Fusion

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The invention relates to a method for deriving at least one item of correction information and a method for operating a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object. The invention further relates to a spectrometer device, an external device, a computer program and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0004] The methods and devices according to the present invention specifically may be employed for example in various areas of daily life, security technology, gaming, traffic technology, production technology, photography such as digital photography or video photography for arts, documentation or technical purposes, safety technology, information technology, agriculture, crop protection, maintenance, cosmetics, medical technology or in the sciences. However, other applications are also possible.

[0005] Background art

[0006] Spectrometer devices are, typically, used for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on an object, such as a measurement object. For obtaining the item of spectral information, the spectrometer devices may have to be calibrated.

[0007] In general, a calibration may be, typically, necessary under several circumstances. A recalibration may be necessary when it comes to changes in an optical path. Further, scratches in a cover glass may result in a loss of the intensity of the detection light and / or in spectral reflexes. Additionally, dirt, deposit and / or dust may also cause an intensity loss. Furthermore, vibrations of components comprised by an external device comprising the spectrometer device may cause slightly change in component positions.

[0008] Consequently, incident angles of the spectrometer device may change. A further cause of intensity loss and stray light may be chipping of mirror coatings. Furthermore, components of the spectrometer device, such as the detector and / or the light emitting element may degrade. Also in these cases, it might be necessary the recalibrate the spectrometer device.

[0009] WO 2023 / 144161 A1 discloses a portable spectrometer device for acquiring at least one item of spectral information. The portable spectrometer device comprises at least one spectrometer unit. The spectrometer unit comprises at least one wavelength-selective element configured for separating incident light into a spectrum of constituent wavelengths and at least one detector device configured for detecting at least a portion of the constituent wavelengths. The portable spectrometer device further comprises at least one control unit and at least one status inquiry device configured for retrieving at least one item of status information on a current environmental status of the portable spectrometer device. The control unit is configured for automatically triggering at least one reference measurement with the detector device, depending on the fulfillment of at least one predetermined environmental status condition.

[0010] US 5 040 889 A discloses an optical instrument, comprising a fiber optic probe to irradiate a sample with visible NIR and ultraviolet light. Glass fibers carry the visible and NIR light to the probe from a visible and NIR light source and quartz fibers carry ultraviolet light to the probe from an ultraviolet source. Glass fibers carry visible and NIR light emanating from the sample to a spectrometer having a fixed grating and an array of photodetectors to receive the spectrum dispersed by the grating within the spectrometer housing. Amplifiers are also contained in the spectrometer housing severally connected to the photodetectors to amplify the output signals of the photodetectors. The probe is provided with a standard white sample pivotal into position to receive the light from the visible light source. A computer is programmed to provide automatic calibrating whenever the temperature within the housing changes more than a predetermined small amount. The automatic calibration is carried out by pivoting the white standard into position and computing calibration values from the resulting photodetector outputs. Automatic calibration is also provided when the ratio of output signals from selected ones of the photodetectors changes by more than a predetermined small percentage.

[0011] US 2020 / 271572 A1 discloses an embodiment of a method of automatically generating a background measurement in a spectrometer that comprises the steps of: collecting a plurality of candidate scans in the spectrometer; determining for each of the plurality of candidate scans if the candidate scan correlates to an orthonormal basis set that is associated with a recent background description; saving each candidate scan that correlates to the orthonormal basis set as a background scan in a scan cache; and generating a new background measurement from a plurality of the background scans stored in the scan cache if a current background measurement is older than a preselected time interval.

[0012] Problem to be solved

[0013] It is therefore desirable to provide methods and devices, which at least partially address the above-mentioned technical challenges and at least substantially avoid the disadvantages of known devices.

[0014] In particular, it may be an object of the present invention to provide a reliable calibration procedure. In particular, it may be an object of the present invention to provide a calibration procedure that does not require a user interaction, particularly over a life time of the spectrometer device.

[0015] Summary

[0016] This problem is, particularly, addressed by the method for deriving at least one item of correction information, the method for operating a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object, the spectrometer device, the external device, the computer program and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Advantageous embodiments which might be realized in an isolated fashion or in any arbitrary combinations are listed in the dependent claims as well as throughout the specification.

[0017] In a first aspect, a method for deriving at least one item of correction information is disclosed. The steps of the method for deriving at least one item of correction information may be performed in the given order. A different order, however, may also be feasible. Further, two or more of the method steps may be performed simultaneously. Thereby, the method steps may at least partly overlap in time. Further, the method steps may be performed once or repeatedly. Thus, one or more or even all of the method steps may be performed once or repeatedly. The method may comprise additional method steps, which are not listed herein. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein.

[0018] The method may be a computer-implemented method. Alternatively or in addition, at least one of the method steps, such as step a) and / or b), preferably any one of the method steps, may be performed by using an evaluation unit. The evaluation unit may be comprised by at least one of: an spectrometer device; an external device; an external server. Consequently, the evaluation unit may be distributed over several devices systems. Each of the device may perform a specific functionality, such a particular method step.

[0019] The term "computer implemented method" as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a method, which involves at least one apparatus, specifically a computer, or a plurality of apparatus, particularly connected via a computer network. The plurality of apparatus may be connected, particularly for transmitting data, via a network by using at least one connection interface at any one of the apparatuses of the plurality of apparatus. The computer-implemented method may be implemented as at least one computer program that may be provided on a storage medium carrying the computer program. Preferably at least one and / or any one of the steps may be performed by using the at least one computer program. Alternatively, the at least one computer program may be accessible by an apparatus which may be adapted for performing the method via a network, such as via an in-house network, via internet, or via a cloud. With particular regard to the present invention, the present method can, thus, be performed on a programmable apparatus, which is configured for this purpose, such as by providing a computer program, which is configured for such a purpose.

[0020] The method comprises the following steps: a) receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor comprised by an external device by using a connection interface of the spectrometer device; b) comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device for the spectrometer device, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0021] The method may comprise performing the correction procedure when the correction procedure is started.

[0022] As already indicated, the method comprises receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor comprised by an external device by using a connection interface of the spectrometer device.

[0023] The term “receiving”, or any grammatical variation thereof, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to, e.g. to a device and / or entity, getting the received item, specifically by using a connection interface. The item, such as the item of sensor information, may be provided by a further device, such as the external providing sensor, and / or entity. Receiving may comprise requesting the device and / or entity to provide the item. The requested device may further obtain the requested item, particularly by actively performing a measurement.

[0024] The term “item of sensor information”, or any grammatical variation thereof, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an item of information derived by using a sensor. The item of sensor information may characterize at least one property and / or at least one change of a property, such as a physical property, on an arbitrary entity for which the item of sensor information is derived. More specifically, the item of sensor information may characterize the at least one property and / or the at least one change, e.g. by qualifying and / or by quantifying, of the at least one entity. The entity may be an arbitrary physical object or an environment. The item of sensor information may be obtained by evaluating a sensor signal from the external providing sensor.

[0025] The term “external”, or any grammatical variation thereof, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a device that is different, particularly in terms of its functionality, from at least one further device. The device may form a functionally closed unit. The device and the further device may function without each other. The further device may comprise the device in terms of their physical arrangement. Consequently, the spectrometer device may be comprised by the external device, particularly in terms of their physical arrangement. Alternatively or in addition, the further device may be separate of the device in terms of their physical arrangement. The external device may be extern of the spectrometer device, specifically a housing of the spectrometer device. The external device and the spectrometer device may be differing devices.

[0026] Consequently, the “external sensor” may be different from the spectrometer device, particularly while the external sensor is comprised by the external device in terms of their physical arrangement. The external sensor may be arranged extern of the spectrometer device, specifically of a housing of the spectrometer device.

[0027] The external device may be or may comprise at least one of: a mobile device, a wearable, specifically a smartwatch, a table, a notebook.

[0028] The term “mobile device” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a mobile electronics device more specifically to a mobile communication device, configured for providing access to at least one telecommunication network, such as a cell phone, smart phone or a wearable. The mobile device may be a portable device.

[0029] The term “portable” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the property of at least one object of being moved by human force, such as by a single user. Specifically, the object characterized by the term “portable” may have a weight not exceeding 10 kg, specifically not exceeding 5 kg, more specifically not exceeding 1 kg or even not exceeding 500 g. Additionally or alternatively, the dimensions of the object characterized by the term “portable” may be such that the object extends by no more than 0.3 m into any dimension, specifically by no more than 0.2 m into any dimension. The object, specifically, may have a volume of no more than 0.03 m3, specifically of no more than 0.01 m3, more specifically no more than 0.001 m3or even no more than 500 mm3. In particular, as an example, the portable spectrometer device may have dimensions of e.g. 10 mm by 10 mm by 5 mm. Specifically, the portable spectrometer device may be part of a mobile device or may be attachable to a mobile device, such as a notebook computer, a tablet, a cell phone, such as a smart phone, a smartwatch and / or a wearable computer, also referred to as “wearable”, e.g. a body borne computer such as a wrist band or a watch. In particular, the weight of the spectrometer device, specifically the portable spectrometer device, may be in the range from 1 g to 100 g, more specifically in the range from 1 g to 10 g.

[0030] The external providing sensor may be or may comprise at least one of: an acceleration sensor; a position sensor; an image generation unit; a detector; a magnetometer; a gyroscope; a step detection sensor; a rotation sensor; an inertial sensor; a LIDAR sensor; a proximity sensor; an audio recording unit, such as a microphone.

[0031] The term “connection interface” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an item or element forming a boundary configured for transferring information. In particular, the connection interface may be configured for transferring information from a computational device to a further computational device, such as to send or output information. Alternatively or in addition, the connection interface may be configured for transferring information within a computational device, such as from a component of the computational device to a further component of the computational device. The connection interface may transfer information from the external providing sensor to the spectrometer device.

[0032] The item of sensor information may be or may comprise at least one of:

[0033] - at least one item of movement pattern information on a movement pattern of the device;

[0034] - at least one item of visual characteristic information on a visual characteristic of the object;

[0035] - at least one item of spectral information on a measured spectrum of an object;

[0036] - at least one item of audio information on a measured audio of an environment of the device.

[0037] The term “spectrometer device” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optical device configured for acquiring at least one item of spectral information on at least one object. Specifically, the at least one item of spectral information may refer to at least one optical property or optically measurable property which is determined as a function of a wavelength, for one or more different wavelengths. More specifically, the optical property or optically measurable property, as well as the at least one item of spectral information, may relate to at least one property characterizing at least one of a transmission, an absorption, a reflection and an emission of the at least one object, either by itself or after illumination with external light. The at least one optical property may be determined for one or more wavelengths. The spectrometer device specifically may form an apparatus which is capable of recording a signal intensity with respect to the corresponding wavelength of a spectrum or a partition thereof, such as a wavelength interval, wherein the signal intensity may, specifically, be provided as an electrical signal which may be used for further evaluation.

[0038] As already indicated, the method comprises comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device for the spectrometer device, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit. In case the item of sensor information meets the at least one predetermined condition, the correction procedure is started. In case the item of sensor information does not meet the at least one predetermined condition, the correction procedure is not started.

[0039] The term “compare”, or any grammatical variation thereof, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a process of obtaining at least one similarity and / or at least one difference between a plurality of entities, such as by considering at least one characteristic, quality and / or feature of the plurality of entities. Comparing may be performed continuously, such as by frequently comparing the entities every 5 ms, 20 ms, 50 ms, 100 ms and / or 200 ms.

[0040] The term “predetermined condition”, or any grammatical variation thereof, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a given and / or known and / or preselected circumstance that has been established before it occurs. The predetermined condition may be a condition preselected for allowing to decide if the correction procedure should be started or not.

[0041] The predetermined condition may be selected from at least one of:

[0042] - a movement pattern of the external device, particularly indicating at least one of: o that the external device is put down; o that the external device is picked up;

[0043] - a characteristic of at least one image generated by using the image generation unit, particularly at least one of: o a contrast of an image; o a color composition of an image;

[0044] - a characteristic of an item of spectral information generated by using the spectrometer device;

[0045] - starting to charge the external device;

[0046] - stopping to charge the external device.

[0047] Alternatively or in addition, the predetermined condition may be selected from at least one of:

[0048] - a characteristic audio indicating that the user is a asleep;

[0049] - a characteristic audio indicating a specific use of the external device, preferably wherein the specific use triggers deriving the at least one item of correction information.

[0050] Triggering may comprise determining a starting time for deriving the at least one item of correction information. The starting time may be delayed in respect to the triggering action. Thereby, it may be planned when deriving the at least one item of correction information. Specifically, the frequency, the type of noise; such as ambient noise; silence; a voice; a speech pattern; and / or at least one past characteristic audio or a plurality of past characteristic audios, specifically a history of characteristic audios, may be evaluated in order to determine the specific use.

[0051] At least one specific predetermined condition may start the open port measurement procedure when the specific predetermined condition indicates that the sample interface is free of an object, such as that the external device is picked up and / or a specific contrast of an image and / or a specific color composition of an image.

[0052] At least one specific predetermined condition may start the object measurement procedure when the specific predetermined condition indicates that an object covers the sample interface, such as that the external device is put down up and / or a specific contrast of an image and / or a specific color composition of an image.

[0053] The term “update” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the process of bringing an entity, such as information, up to date, particularly for improving its current state, such as by making at least one change and / or at least one modification to at least one outdated entity. Updating may comprise replacing the outdated entity, such as the current item of correction information, with the entity that is up date, such as the obtained item of correction information. Updating may be performed in a manner that the obtained item of correction information is considered, particularly as a compensation and / or a correction information, when evaluating feature detector signals for obtaining the item of spectroscopic information. Particularly consequently, the item of outdated correction information on the spectrometer device is no longer considered, particularly as a compensation and / or a correction information, when evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectroscopic information.

[0054] The term “correction procedure” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a calibration procedure. The term correction procedure may refer to a process of evaluating at least one deviation between a known reference value, particularly an item of spectral reference information, and a measurement value generated during the correction procedure, such as an item of spectral information. During the correction procedure this deviation may be compensated, particularly by obtaining the item of correction information. The deviation may be related to and / or introduced by a performance of at least one component of the spectrometer device, particularly influenced by aging effects, drifting effects and / or hysteresis effects of the at least one component.

[0055] The term “item of correction information” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to data configured to be used when operating the spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object in order to compensate for at least one spectrometer-specific bias, error and / or variation. The item of correction information may be configured for providing wavelength accuracy, baseline noise removal, intensity calibration, stray light elimination, spectral resolution enhancement and / or environmental compensation. Further, the item of correction information may be configured for providing a compensation for a baseline drift. The drift correction may account for temperature effects and / or chemical interferences. Thereby, a better calibration may be achieved.

[0056] One or more step or any step of the method for deriving at least one item of correction information may be performed in the field. The term “in the field” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a process of correcting and / or calibrating an arbitrary device, such as the spectrometer device at the usage location and / or the operational environment of the device, particularly contrary to a process of calibrating the device in a controlled laboratory and / or calibration facility, specifically by the manufacturer.

[0057] The term “to evaluate”, as used herein, is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the process of processing at least one first item of information in order to generate at least one second item of information thereby. Consequently, the term “evaluation unit”, as used herein, is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary device or a combination of devices configured to evaluate or process at least one first item of information, in order to generate at least one second item of information thereof. Thus, specifically, the evaluation unit may be configured for processing at least one input signal and to generate at least one output signal thereof. The at least one input signal, as an example, may comprise at least one detector signal provided directly or indirectly by the at least one photosensitive detector.

[0058] As an example, the evaluation unit may be or may comprise one or more integrated circuits, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more data processing devices, such as one or more of computers, digital signal processors (DSP), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) preferably one or more microcomputers and / or microcontrollers. Additional components may be comprised, such as one or more preprocessing devices and / or data acquisition devices, such as one or more devices for receiving and / or preprocessing of the detector signals, such as one or more AD-converters and / or one or more filters. Further, the evaluation unit may comprise one or more data storage devices. Further, the evaluation unit may comprise one or more interfaces, such as one or more wireless interfaces and / or one or more wire-bound interfaces.

[0059] The correction procedure may comprise an open port measurement procedure for obtaining at least one item of open port measurement information, particularly comprising the following step: i. optionally, illuminating an object free sample interface of the spectrometer device with illumination light by using the at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light;

[0060] II. detecting the, optionally detection, light by using the at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; ill. obtaining the at least one item of open port measurement information by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit. As further used herein, the term “light” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to electromagnetic radiation in one or more of the infrared, the visible and the ultraviolet spectral range. Herein, the term “ultraviolet spectral range”, generally, refers to electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of 1 nm to 380 nm, preferably of 100 nm to 380 nm. Further, in partial accordance with standard ISO-21348 in a valid version at the date of this document, the term “visible spectral range”, generally, refers to a spectral range of 380 nm to 760 nm. The term “infrared spectral range” (IR) generally refers to electromagnetic radiation of 760 nm to 1000 pm, wherein the range of 760 nm to 1 .5 pm is usually denominated as “near infrared spectral range” (NIR) while the range from 1 .5 p to 15 pm is denoted as “mid infrared spectral range” (MidlR) and the range from 15 pm to 1000 pm as “far infrared spectral range” (FIR). Preferably, light used for the typical purposes of the present invention is light in the infrared (IR) spectral range, more preferred, in the near infrared (NIR) and / or the mid infrared spectral range (MidlR), especially the light having a wavelength of 1 pm to 5 pm, preferably of 1 pm to 3 pm. This is due to the fact that many material properties or properties on the chemical constitution of many objects may be derived from the near infrared spectral range. It shall be noted, however, that spectroscopy in other spectral ranges is also feasible and within the scope of the present invention.

[0061] Consequently, the term “light emitting element”, also referred to as an “illumination source”, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary device configured for generating or providing light, specifically “illumination light” in the sense of the above-mentioned definition for the term “light”. The light emitting element specifically may be or may comprise at least one electrical light source.

[0062] As further used herein, the term “detection light” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to light that is generated by the object, particularly generated in an interaction of the illumination light with the object, such as scattering, reflecting and / or transmitting. The detection light may be illumination light that is reflected and / or scattered back through the sample interface to the at least one detector. At least a portion of the illumination light may be transmitted and / or absorbed by the object in a manner that it is not detected by the at least one detector. The light emitting element may be a thermal radiator. The thermal radiator may be selected from an incandescent lamp or a thermal infrared emitter. The term “incandescent lamp” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an electric light having a heatable element, such as a wire filament heated, which is capable of being heated to a temperature at which it emits light, especially infrared light. Since the incandescent lamp can, therefore, be considered as a thermal emitter within the infrared spectral range, an emission power of the incandescent lamp decreases with increasing wavelength. The thermal radiator may be selected from an incandescent lamp or a thermal infrared emitter. The term “thermal infrared emitter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a micro-machined thermally emitting device, which comprises a radiation emitting surface as the light emitting element that emits the optical radiation to be monitored.

[0063] Alternatively or in addition, the light emitting element may be a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based emitter. The term “microelectromechanical system (MEMS)- based emitter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary apparatus configured for generating and / or emitting light comprising at least one element, wherein the element is associated with MEMS technology. MEMS technology, typically, involves the manufacture of mechanical and / or electrical elements on a microscale, typically below 1 pm or 100 pm or 1 mm or 5 mm or 50 mm.

[0064] Alternatively or in addition, the light emitting element may be a laser, specifically a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), particularly emitting at least one wavelength in the infrared region.

[0065] The term “vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a semiconductor laser diode configured for laser beam emission perpendicular with respect to a top surface. VCSELs are generally known to the skilled person such as from WO 2017 / 222618 A.

[0066] Alternatively or in addition, the radiation emitting element may be a light-emitting diode (LED), specifically a LED emitting light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range. Alternatively or in addition, a LED emitting light that is illuminating a luminescent material, specifically a phosphor, for light-conversion of light generated by the LED, wherein the luminescent material generates converted light that is at least partly located in the near-infrared spectral range.

[0067] The term “light-emitting diode” or briefly “LED”, as used herein, is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optoelectronic semiconductor device capable of emitting light when an electrical current flows through the device. The optoelectronic semiconductor device may be configured for generating the light due to various physical processes, including one or more of spontaneous emission, induced emission, decay of metastable excited states and the like. Thus, as an example, the light-emitting diode, may comprise one or more of: a light-emitting diode based on spontaneous emission of light, in particular an organic light emitting diode, a light-emitting diode based on superluminescence (sLED), or a laser diode (LD) In the following, without narrowing the possible embodiments of the light-emitting diode to any of the before-mentioned physical principles or setups, the abbreviation “LED” will be used for any type of light-emitting diode.

[0068] Specifically, the LED may comprise at least two layers of semiconductor material, wherein light may be generated at at least one interface between the at least two layers of semiconductor material, specifically due to a recombination of positive and negative electrical charges, e.g. due to electron-hole recombination. The at least two layers of semiconductor material may have differing electrical properties, such as at least one of the layers being an n-doped semiconductor material and at least one of the layers being a p-doped semiconductor material. Thus, as an example, the LED may comprise at least one pn-junction and / or at least one pin-set up. It shall be noted, however, that other device structures are feasible, too. The at least one semiconductor material may specifically be or may comprise at least one inorganic semiconducting material. It shall be noted, however, that organic semiconducting materials may be used additionally or alternatively.

[0069] Generally, the LED may convert electrical current into light, specifically light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range. Alternatively or in addition, LED may convert electrical current into light into primary light, more specifically into blue primary light. The LED, thus, specifically may be a blue LED. The LED may be configured for generating the primary light, particularly for the light-conversion in the phosphor, also referred to as the “pump light”. Thus, the LED may also be referred to as the “pump LED”. The LED specifically may comprise at least one LED chip and / or at least one LED die. Thus, the semiconductor element of the LED may comprise an LED bare chip. The term “luminescence” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the process of spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat. Specifically, luminescence may refer to a cold-body radiation. More specifically, the luminescence may be initiated or excited by irradiation of light, in which case the luminescence is also referred to as “photoluminescence”. The property of a material being capable of performing luminescence, in the context of the present invention, is referred to by the adjective “luminescent”. The at least one luminescent material specifically may be a photoluminescent material, i.e. a material which is capable of emitting light after absorption of photons or excitation light. Specifically, the luminescent material may have a positive Stokes shift, which generally may refer to the fact that the secondary light is red-shifted with respect to the primary light.

[0070] The at least one luminescent material, thus, may form at least one converter, also referred to as a light converter, transforming primary light into secondary light having different spectral properties as compared to the primary light. Specifically, a spectral width of the secondary light may be larger than a spectral width of the primary light, and / or a center of emission of the secondary light may be shifted, specifically red-shifted, compared to the primary light. Specifically, the at least one luminescent material may have an absorption in the ultraviolet and / or blue spectral range and an emission in the near-infrared and / or infrared spectral range. Thus, generally, the luminescent material or converter may form at least one component of the phosphor LED converging primary light or pump light, specifically in the blue spectral range, into light having a longer wavelength, e.g. in the near-infrared or infrared spectral range.

[0071] The luminescent material, specifically, may, thus, form at least one converter or light converter. The luminescent material may form at least one of a converter platelet, a luminescent and specifically a fluorescent coating on the LED and phosphor coating on the LED. The luminescent material may, as an example, comprise one or more of the following materials: Cerium-doped YAG (YAG:Ce3+, or YsAlsO^Ce3-); rare-earth-doped Sialons; copper- and aluminium-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu,AI).

[0072] The LED and the luminescent material, together, may form a so-called “phosphor LED”. Consequently, the term “phosphor light-emitting diode” or briefly “phosphor LED”, as used herein, is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a combination of at least one light-emitting diode configured for generating primary light or pump light, and at least one luminescent material, also referred to as a “phosphor”, configured for lightconversion of the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode. The phosphor LED may form a packaged LED light source, including the LED die, e.g. a blue LED emitting blue pump light, as well as the phosphor, which, as an example, fully or partially coats the LED, which is, as an example, configured for converting the primary light or blue light into light having differing spectral properties, specifically into near-infrared light. Generally, the phosphor LED may be packaged in one housing or may be unpackaged. Thus, the LED and the at least one luminescent material for light-conversion of the primary light generated by the light-emitting diode may specifically be housed in a common housing. Alternatively, however, the LED may also be an unhoused or bare LED which may fully or partially be covered with the luminescent material, such as by disposing one or more layers of the luminescent material on the LED die. The phosphor LED, generally, may form an emitter or light source by itself.

[0073] The light emitting light may be emitting visible light and / or infrared light. The illumination light may have a spectral range at least partially located in the near-infrared spectral range, specifically in the spectral range from 1 to 3 pm, preferably from 1 .3 to 2.5 pm, more preferably from 1.5 to 2.2 pm.

[0074] The light emitting element may be configured for illuminating a defined illumination area on the sample interface. Particularly thereby, the light emitting element may define the sample interface. The optical element and / or a further optical element may be configured for directing the illumination light of the light emitting element towards the sample interface. Particularly, thereby, the optical element and / or a further optical element may define the illumination area.

[0075] The verb “to detect” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the process of at least one of determining, measuring and monitoring at least one parameter, qualitatively and / or quantitatively, such as at least one of a physical parameter, a chemical parameter and a biological parameter. Specifically, the physical parameter may be or may comprise an electrical parameter. Consequently, the term “photosensitive detector”, or “detector” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary device configured for detecting, i.e. for at least one of determining, measuring and monitoring, at least one parameter, qualitatively and / or quantitatively, such as at least one of a physical parameter, a chemical parameter and a biological parameter. The at least one detector may be configured for generating at least one detector signal, more specifically at least one electrical detector signal, such as an analogue and / or a digital detector signal, the detector signal providing information on the at least one parameter measured by the detector. The detector signal may directly or indirectly be provided by the at least one detector to the evaluation unit, such that the at least one detector and the evaluation unit may be directly or indirectly connected. The detector signals may be used as a “raw” detector signal and / or may be processed or preprocessed before further used, e.g. by filtering and the like. Thus, the at least one detector may comprise at least one processing device and / or at least one preprocessing device, such as at least one of an amplifier, an analogue / digital converter, an electrical filter and a Fourier transformation.

[0076] The at least one detector may be configured for detecting light propagating from the object to the spectrometer device or more specifically to the at least one detector of the spectrometer device. The at least one detector may be configured for determining at least one optical parameter, such as an intensity and / or a power of light by which at least one sensitive area of the detector is irradiated. More specifically, the at least one detector may comprise at least one photosensitive element and / or at least one optical sensor, such as at least one of a photodiode, a photocell, a photosensitive resistor, a phototransistor, a thermophile sensor, a photoacoustic sensor, a pyroelectric sensor, a photomultiplier and a bolometer. The at least one detector, thus, may be configured for generating at least one detector signal, more specifically at least one electrical detector signal, in the above-mentioned sense, providing information on at least one optical parameter, such as the power and / or intensity of light by which the detector or a sensitive area of the detector is illuminated. The at least one detector may be a Lead Sulfide (PbS) detector.

[0077] The detector may comprise a plurality of photosensitive elements, wherein each of the photosensitive elements may be configured for generating at least one detector signal for deriving the spectral information. The plurality of photosensitive elements may be arranged in an array. The term “array” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a series of optical sensors which may, preferably, be arranged in a single line as a one-dimensional matrix along the length of the length variable filter or in more than one line, especially in two, three, or four parallel lines, in form of a two-dimensional matrix, in particular, in order to receive most of the intensity of the incident light as possible. Thus, a number N of photosensitive elements in one direction may be higher compared to a number M of photosensitive elements in a further direction such that the one-dimensional 1 x N matrix or a rectangular two-dimensional M x N matrix may be obtained, wherein M < 10 and N > 10, preferably N > 20, more preferred N > 50. In addition, the matrixes may also be placed in a staggered arrangement.

[0078] The plurality of photosensitive elements may be sensitive to differing, particularly not overlapping, wavelength intervals. Particularly consequently, a first photosensitive element may detect light within a first wavelength range and a second photosensitive element may detect light within a second wavelength range, wherein the first and the second wavelength range are different from each other, particularly in a manner that wavelength ranges do not overlap. There may be a third photosensitive elements having a further different, particularly not overlapping, wavelength range, and so on.

[0079] The term “obtaining” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the procedure of getting and / or becoming access to data, such as information. Obtaining may comprise receiving the data from a sending device. For receiving the data, obtaining may comprise requesting the data from the sending device, such as by sending a query to the sending device. Alternatively or in addition, obtaining may comprise generating the data, particularly by evaluating further data to derive the data.

[0080] The term “open port measurement procedure” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to a process of determining a baseline for the correction procedure, particularly a baseline for correcting a spectral offset caused by the light detected in the absence of an object.

[0081] The term “item of open port measurement information” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to information determined in the open port measurement procedure. The item of open port measurement information may comprise baseline information. The item of open port measurement information may be evaluation for obtaining the item of spectral measurement information on the object.

[0082] The term “sample interface” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary surface, such as measurement surface, at which an object is intended to interact with an optical measurement system, such as the spectrometer device. The measurement surface may be a measurement plane. For interacting with the object, the spectrometer device may emit the illumination light, particularly in a manner that the object generates the detection light. In addition, the spectrometer may receive the detection light. Particularly to allow the interaction with the object as intended, the sample interface may define a measurement pose of the object. When the object assumes the measurement pose, particularly as defined by the sample interface, at least one of: receiving the illumination light by the object and, thereby, generating the detection light is performed in a manner as intended, such as that when the object assumes the measurement pose, the signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrometer device is minimized. An image plane of the detector may define the sample interface.

[0083] The correction procedure comprises an object measurement procedure for obtaining at least one item of measurement information on the object, particularly comprising the following step: iv. illuminating the object with illumination light by using the at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light; v. detecting the detection light from the object by using the at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; vi. obtaining the at least one item of measurement information on the object by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0084] The term “item of measurement information” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to information determined in the measurement procedure. The item of measurement information may comprise information derived from the object. The item of measurement information may be evaluation for obtaining the item of spectral measurement information on the object.

[0085] The term “object” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary physical unit that may be considered when performing the measurement procedure. The object may be an object that the spectrometer device and / or the external device is often exposed to. The object may have characteristics that are suited for performing the measurement procedure. The material of the object may be wood, particularly as the external device may be put on a table. The material may be a fabric, such as a fabric of a jeans, a bedsheet, a couch and so on. Further, the material may be a plastic.

[0086] The correction procedure may comprise the following step vii. obtaining at least one item of spectral information on the object by evaluating the item of open port measurement information and / or the item of measurement information on the object, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0087] The step vii. may be started when at least one new item of open port measurement information and / or at least one new item of measurement information on the object is obtained. The item of open port measurement information and / or the item of measurement information on the object that is used for obtaining at least one item of spectral information may be the new item of open port measurement information and / or at least one new item of measurement information on the object. Alternatively or in addition, the item of open port measurement information and / or the item of measurement information on the object that is used for obtaining at least one item of spectral information may be a recently stored item of open port measurement information and / or at least one recently stored item of measurement information on the object. A time gap between the respect new item of information and the stored item of information may be less than 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour, 1 minute, 10 seconds.

[0088] The term “spectral information”, also referred to as “spectroscopic information” or as “an item of spectral information”, as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an item of information, e.g. on at least one object and / or radiation emitted by at least one object, characterizing at least one optical property of the object, more specifically at least one item of information characterizing, e.g. qualifying and / or quantifying, at least one of a transmission, an absorption, a reflection and an emission of the at least one object. As an example, the at least one item of spectral information may comprise at least one intensity information, e.g. information on an intensity of light being at least one of transmitted, absorbed, reflected or emitted by the object, e.g. as a function of a wavelength or wavelength sub-range over one or more wavelengths, e.g. over a range of wavelengths. Specifically, the intensity information may correspond to or be derived from the signal intensity, specifically the electrical signal, recorded by the spectrometer device with respect to a wavelength or a range of wavelengths of the spectrum.

[0089] The item of spectral information may be an absorbance A. The absorbance A may be derived by using the following equation

[0090] S - 0 A = — log - ,

[0091] 5C • 0 - 0 wherein S is the item of measurement information on the object, 0 is the item of open port measurement information and C is a current item of correction information. During the correction procedure the current item of correction information may be used. The current item of correction information may differ from the item of correction information that is obtained by performing the correction procedure. Particularly since the object and / or the relevant characteristics of the object may be unknown when the measurement procedure is performed, the correction procedure comprises the following step viii. obtaining at least one item of meta object information on the object, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0092] The term “item of meta object information” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to arbitrary information on the object, particularly on at least one characteristic of the object. The at least one characteristic of the object may be suitable for determining item of spectral reference information related to the object. The item of meta object information may be selected from at least one of: a type; a material; a surface characteristics; of the object.

[0093] Obtaining the at least one item of meta object information may comprise at least one of: prompting a user of the spectrometer device in order to indicate the item of meta object information by using at least one prompting device; evaluating the item of sensor information from the external providing sensor in order to obtaining information on the at least one item of meta object information; evaluating and / or using at least one item of presumed meta object information, wherein the item of presumed meta object information indicates for which object the at least one item of measurement information might have been generated.

[0094] The term “item of presumed meta object information” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an item of meta object information that is obtained by evaluating statistical data. The statistical data may have been derived in previous measurement cycles. Evaluating the statistical data may comprise using at least one machine learning model. The machine learning model may be trained by user indication when performing the correction procedure. The prompting device may be a display and / or a speaker, particularly of the external device. The user may indicate the item of meta object information by giving a respective input, such as a text input and / or a voice input.

[0095] The correction procedure comprises the following step ix. selecting an item of spectral reference information by considering the at least one item of meta object information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0096] The term “selecting” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to the process of choosing and / or picking at least one entity from a set of options and / or alternatives. Selecting may comprise taking an information into account, such as by considering the at least one item of meta object information. Particularly consequently, the item of spectral reference information is selected in accordance with the at least one item of meta object information.

[0097] Selecting the item of spectral reference information may comprise requesting the item of spectral reference information from an external server. Requesting the item of spectral reference information from an external server may comprise using at least one search engine, such as a known internet search engine. The internet search engine may be a public internet search engine. For using the at least one search engine, the item of meta object information may be used as a search parameter by the search engine.

[0098] The correction procedure may comprise the following step x. validating the selected item of spectral reference information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0099] The term “validating” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to assessing and / or confirming the accuracy, completeness and / or compliance of information against a set of standards, criteria and / or expectations.

[0100] The selected item of spectral reference information may be valid, when a deviation between the selected item of spectral reference information and the at least one item of spectral reference information is below a threshold.

[0101] The correction procedure comprises the following step xi. obtaining the at least one item of correction information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0102] The item of spectral reference information may be a reference absorbance A'. The obtained item of correction information C may be derived by using the following equation , s - o

[0103] A = — log - ,

[0104] 5C • 0 - 0 wherein S is the item of measurement information on the object and 0 is the item of open port measurement information.

[0105] The correction procedure may comprise the following step xii. validating the obtained at least one item of correction information by comparing the obtained at least one item of correction information to at least one predetermined value, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0106] The obtained at least one item of correction information may be valid, when a deviation between the obtained at least one item of correction information and the at least one predetermined value is below a further threshold. The predetermined value may be a further item of correction information, such as the current item of correction information.

[0107] The correction procedure may comprise the following step xiii. updating at least one item of current correction information on the spectrometer device with the obtained at least one item of correction information on the spectrometer device, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0108] The at least one item of current correction information may be updated if at least one of:

[0109] - the selected item of spectral reference information is valid;

[0110] - the obtained the at least one item of correction information is valid.

[0111] In a further aspect, a method for operating a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object is disclosed, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

[0112] (1 ) performing a method for deriving at least one item of correction informationas disclosed elsewhere herein;

[0113] (2) illuminating the object with illumination light generated by using at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light from the at least one object;

[0114] (3) detecting the detection light from the object by using at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; and

[0115] (4) evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectral information on the object by using at least one evaluation unit, wherein at least one item of correction information is considered when deriving the item of spectral information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein. The object investigated during operation may differ from the object investigated during correction procedure.

[0116] In a further aspect, a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object by spectral measurement is disclosed, wherein the spectrometer device is configured for performing the method as disclosed elsewhere herein. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein.

[0117] The spectrometer device may be configured for performing a method according to any one of the preceding method claims. The light emitting element may be at least one of: a thermal radiator; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based emitter; a laser, specifically a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), particularly emitting at least one wavelength in the infrared region; a light-emitting diode (LED), particularly a LED emitting light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range and / or a LED illuminating a phosphor for light-conversion of light generated by the LED, wherein the luminescent material generates converted light that is at least partly located in the nearinfrared spectral range. The light emitting element may be emitting visible light and / or infrared light. The at least one detector may comprise a plurality of photosensitive elements sensitive to differing wavelength intervals.

[0118] The spectrometer device further may comprise at least one wavelength-selective element. The wavelength-selective element may be disposed in at least one of:

[0119] - a beam path of the illumination light; and

[0120] - a beam path of the detection light.

[0121] The wavelength-selective element may be configured and / or arranged in a manner that at least two photosensitive elements of the plurality of photosensitive elements may be exposed to an individual, specifically differing, spectral range of detection light from the object.

[0122] As used herein, the term “wavelength-selective element” is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an arbitrary optical element which interacts with differing spectral portions of incident light in a different manner, e.g. by having at least one wavelengthdependent optical property, such as at least one wavelength-dependent optical property selected from the list consisting of a degree of reflection, a direction of reflection, a degree of refraction, a direction of refraction, an absorption, a transmission, an index of refraction. The wavelength-selective element may be configured such that each of the photosensitive detectors may be exposed to the same spectral range of the detection light. The wavelength-selective element may be selected from the group of a tunable wavelength-selective element and a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum. By using a tunable wavelength selective element, as an example, differing wavelength ranges may be selected sequentially, whereas, by using a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum, the selection of the wavelength ranges may be fixed and may, however, be dependent e.g. on a detection position, thereby allowing, as an example, in the detection light beam path, for simultaneously exposing different detectors and / or different photosensitive detectors of the detector to differing spectral ranges of light.

[0123] Thus the at least one wavelength-selective element may comprise at least one of a filter, a grating, a prism, a plasmonic filter, a diffractive optical element and a metamaterial. More specifically, the spectrometer device may comprise at least one wavelength- selective element disposed in a beam path of the light from the object, i.e. in the beam path of the detection light, wherein the wavelength-selective element, specifically may be configured such that each of the photosensitive detectors is exposed to an individual spectral range of the light from the object. As an example, a variable wavelength- selective element may be used, the transmission of which depends on a position on the wavelength-selective element, such that, when the variable wavelength-selective element is placed on top of the array of photosensitive detectors, the individual photosensitive detectors are exposed to differing spectral ranges of the incident light, specifically the detection light from the object.

[0124] The wavelength-selective element may be selected from the group of a tunable wavelength-selective element and a wavelength-selective element having a fixed transmission spectrum. The wavelength-selective element may be or may comprise at least one of: a length variable filter; a static filter; a tunable filter, particularly a MEMS Fabry-Perot cavity; an optical lens; a diffractive element.

[0125] The term “length variable filter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optical filter which comprises a plurality of individual filter elements, preferably a plurality of interference filter elements, which may, in particular, be provided in a continuous arrangement of the individual filter elements. Herein, each of the filter elements may form a bandpass with a variable center wavelength for each spatial position on the filter, preferably continuously, along a single dimension, which is, usually, denoted by the term “length”, on a receiving surface of the length variable filter. The variable center wavelength may be a linear function of the spatial position of each filter element, in which case the length variable filter is usually referred to as a “linearly variable filter” or by its abbreviation “LVF”. However, other kinds of functions may be applicable to the relationship between the variable center wavelength and the spatial position on the individual filter elements. Herein, the individual filter elements may be located on a transparent substrate which may, in particular, comprise at least one material that may show a high degree of optical transparency within in the infrared (IR) spectral range, especially, within the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range as described below in more detail, whereby varying spectral properties, especially continuously varying spectral properties, of the filter along length of the filter may be achieved. In particular, the length variable filter may be a wedge filter that may be adapted to carry at least one response coating on a transparent substrate, wherein the response coating may exhibit a spatially variable property, in particular, a spatially variable thickness. However, other kinds of length variable filters which may comprise other materials or which may exhibit a further spatially variable property may also be feasible. At a normal angle of incidence of an incident light ray or light beam, each of the filter elements as comprised by the length variable filter may have a bandpass width that may amount to a fraction of the center wavelength, typically to a few percent, of the particular filter.

[0126] The term “static filter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optical filter, particularly a bandpass filter, which blocks and / or selects light of a predetermined wavelength range, specifically by reflecting and / or absorbing. The wavelength range may be fixed. A fixed wavelength length may be unchangeable and / or static. The optical properties of the static filter may not be time-varying.

[0127] The term “tunable filter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optical filter which blocks and / or selects light of an adjustable wavelength range. The optical properties of the tunable filter may be time-varying. An interferometer may be used as a tunable filter, specifically a Fabry-Perot interferometer, Mach-Zehnder interferometer and / or a Michelson interferometer. Alternatively, angle-dependent wavelength shifts of a static filter may be utilized. This may be realized by using at least one micro electro mechanical system, MEMS, where moving parts of the interferometer are realized be using micro actuators.

[0128] The term “diffractive element” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an item for shaping the incident radiation by diffraction of the incident radiation at an optical grating.

[0129] The length variable filter may comprise at least two bandpass filters, wherein each bandpass filter may be assigned to a respective pixelated sensor by being arranged within the field of view of the respective pixelated sensor, wherein each bandpass filter may be configured for selecting at least one wavelength of the accepted incident radiation. The term “bandpass filter” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to an optical filter that allows only incident radiation having a wavelength that is within a predefined range to pass. Incident radiation having a wavelength below and / or above the predefined range may be blocked or may be significantly attenuated. The selected at least one wavelength may be within the predefined range. The selected at least one wavelength may be transferred onto the respective pixelated sensor. The term “assigned to a respective pixelated sensor” as used herein is a broad term and is to be given its ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art and is not to be limited to a special or customized meaning. The term specifically may refer, without limitation, to transmitting the accepted incident radiation onto the respective pixelated sensor. Thereby, the at least two bandpass filters may be arranged in a manner that each bandpass filter of the at least two bandpass filters is placed within a field of view of a different pixelated sensor.

[0130] The length variable filter may comprise at least two bandpass filters, wherein each bandpass filter may be arranged in the field of view of a specific photosensitive element, wherein each bandpass filter may be configured for selecting at least one wavelength range of the detection light.

[0131] In a further aspect, an external device is disclosed. The external device is comprising a spectrometer device as described elsewhere herein. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein.

[0132] In a further aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is disclosed which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as disclosed elsewhere herein. The computer may be a spectrometer device, particularly the evaluation unit of the spectrometer device, as disclosed elsewhere herein. Particularly method steps performed by the evaluation unit may be caused to be performed by the computer. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein. In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is disclosed, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the as disclosed elsewhere herein. The computer may be a spectrometer device, particularly the evaluation unit of the spectrometer device, as disclosed elsewhere herein. Particularly method steps performed by the evaluation unit may be caused to be performed by the computer. For this aspect, reference may be made to any definition, Embodiment, claim and / or aspect as disclosed herein.

[0133] As used herein, the “computer-readable storage medium” specifically may refer to non- transitory data storage means, such as a hardware storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions. The stored computer-executable instruction may be associate with the computer program. The computer-readable data carrier or storage medium specifically may be or may comprise a storage medium such as a random-access memory (RAM) and / or a read-only memory (ROM).

[0134] As used herein, the terms “have”, “comprise” or “include” or any arbitrary grammatical variations thereof are used in a non-exclusive way. Thus, these terms may both refer to a situation in which, besides the feature introduced by these terms, no further features are present in the entity described in this context and to a situation in which one or more further features are present. As an example, the expressions “A has B”, “A comprises B” and “A includes B” may both refer to a situation in which, besides B, no other element is present in A (i.e. a situation in which A solely and exclusively consists of B) and to a situation in which, besides B, one or more further elements are present in entity A, such as element C, elements C and D or even further elements.

[0135] Further, it shall be noted that the terms “at least one”, “one or more” or similar expressions indicating that a feature or element may be present once or more than once typically are used only once when introducing the respective feature or element. In most cases, when referring to the respective feature or element, the expressions “at least one” or “one or more” are not repeated, notwithstanding the fact that the respective feature or element may be present once or more than once.

[0136] Further, as used herein, the terms "preferably", "more preferably", "particularly", "more particularly", "specifically", "more specifically" or similar terms are used in conjunction with optional features, without restricting alternative possibilities. Thus, features introduced by these terms are optional features and are not intended to restrict the scope of the claims in any way. The invention may, as the skilled person will recognize, be performed by using alternative features. Similarly, features introduced by "in an embodiment of the invention" or similar expressions are intended to be optional features, without any restriction regarding alternative embodiments of the invention, without any restrictions regarding the scope of the invention and without any restriction regarding the possibility of combining the features introduced in such way with other optional or non- optional features of the invention.

[0137] The method for deriving at least one item of correction information, the method for operating a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object, the spectrometer device, the external device, the computer program and the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention, in one or more of the above-mentioned embodiments and / or in one or more of the embodiments described in further detail below, provide a large number of advantages over known devices and methods of similar kind.

[0138] The present invention may provide a reliable calibration procedure. The present invention may provide may provide a calibration procedure that does not require a user interaction, particularly over a life time of the spectrometer device.

[0139] Sensor fusion using the acceleration sensor and / or the position sensor possible of an external device may be possible. An external device, such as a smart watch or a smartphone, may activate when a user lifts an arm. As long as the smart watch or the smartphone is put down and / or put in a pocket open port measurements could be performed. Open port measurements may typically take some hundreds of Milliseconds. Once the smart watch or the smartphone is put down, a measurement on an object could be performed. The object could be a material the external device is often exposed to, such as a wooden table, a fabric (e.g. jeans pocket, bedsheet, couch, etc.), a common plastic.

[0140] The user may have to interact with an app and / or the external device smartphone, at least once. The object could be either a material the user can easily find in the environment, such as a plastic (PET) bottle, a plate, a car paint, a wooden table or the like. Alternatively, the user may train the smartphone with typical materials the user is exposing the smartphone to, such as when charging the external device.

[0141] A spectrum of the object may be measured and then being analyzed. A material may be determined, e.g. in the cloud. An image generation unit of the camera may be used. The object and its material may be identified together with a measured spectrum. An image may be taken, which is used for reference analytics, e.g. by pre-selecting a plurality of spectra in a database and comparing the plurality of spectra to a measured spectrum in order to analyze the material.

[0142] Summarizing and without excluding further possible embodiments, the following embodiments may be envisaged: Embodiment 1 : A method for deriving at least one item of correction information, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor comprised by an external device by using a connection interface of the spectrometer device; b) comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device for the spectrometer device, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0143] Embodiment 2: The method according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the evaluation unit is comprised by at least one of:

[0144] - the spectrometer device;

[0145] - the external device;

[0146] - an external server.

[0147] Embodiment 3: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the spectrometer device is further comprised by the external device.

[0148] Embodiment 4: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the external device is or comprises at least one of:

[0149] - a mobile device,

[0150] - a wearable, specifically a smartwatch,

[0151] - a table,

[0152] - a notebook.

[0153] Embodiment 5: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the item of sensor information is or comprises at least one of:

[0154] - at least one item of movement pattern information on a movement pattern of the device;

[0155] - at least one item of visual characteristic information on a visual characteristic of the object;

[0156] - at least one item of spectral information on a measured spectrum on an object;

[0157] - at least one item of audio information on a measured audio of an environment of the device.

[0158] Embodiment 6: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the external providing sensor is or comprises at least one of:

[0159] - an acceleration sensor; - a position sensor;

[0160] - a image generation unit;

[0161] - a detector;

[0162] - a magnetometer;

[0163] - a gyroscope;

[0164] - a step detection sensor;

[0165] - a rotation sensor;

[0166] - an inertial sensor;

[0167] - a LIDAR sensor;

[0168] - a proximity sensor

[0169] - an audio recording unit, such as a microphone.

[0170] Embodiment 7: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the predetermined condition is selected from at least one of:

[0171] - a movement pattern of the external device, particularly indicating at least one of: o that the external device is put down; o that the external device is picked up;

[0172] - a characteristic of at least one image generated by using the image generation unit, particularly at least one of: o a contrast of an image; o a color composition of an image;

[0173] - a characteristic of an item of spectral information generated by using the spectrometer device;

[0174] - starting to charge the external device;

[0175] - stopping to charge the external device.

[0176] Embodiment 8: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure comprises an open port measurement procedure for obtaining at least one item of open port measurement information, particularly comprising the following step: i. optionally, illuminating an object free sample interface of the spectrometer device with illumination light by using the at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light;

[0177] II. detecting the, optionally detection, light by using the at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; ill. obtaining the at least one item of open port measurement information by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit. Embodiment 9: The method according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the detector comprises a plurality of photosensitive elements sensitive to differing wavelength intervals.

[0178] Embodiment 10: The method according any one of the two preceding Embodiments, wherein the light emitting element is at least one of:

[0179] - a thermal radiator;

[0180] - a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based emitter;

[0181] - a laser, specifically a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), particularly emitting at least one wavelength in the infrared region;

[0182] - a light-emitting diode (LED), particularly o a LED emitting light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range and / or o a LED illuminating a phosphor for light-conversion of light generated by the LED, wherein the luminescent material generates converted light that is at least partly located in the near-infrared spectral range.

[0183] Embodiment 11 : The method according to any one of the three preceding Embodiments, wherein the light emitting light is emitting visible light and / or infrared light.

[0184] Embodiment 12: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure comprises an object measurement procedure for obtaining at least one item of measurement information on the object, particularly comprising the following step: iv. illuminating the object with illumination light by using the at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light; v. detecting the detection light from the object by using the at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; vi. obtaining the at least one item of measurement information on the object by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0185] Embodiment 13: The method according to any one of the five preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step vii. obtaining at least one item of spectral information on the object by evaluating the item of open port measurement information and / or the item of measurement information on the object, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit. Embodiment 14: The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step viii. obtaining at least one item of meta object information on the object by using the evaluation unit, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0186] Embodiment 15: The method according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein obtaining the at least one item of meta object information comprises at least one of: prompting a user of the spectrometer device in order to indicate the item of meta object information by using at least one prompting device; evaluating the item of sensor information from the external providing sensor in order to obtaining information on the at least one item of meta object information; evaluating at least one item of presumed meta object information, wherein the item of presumed meta object information indicates for which object the at least one item of measurement information might have been generated.

[0187] Embodiment 16: The method according to any one of the two preceding Embodiments, wherein the item of meta object information is selected from at least one of:

[0188] - a type;

[0189] - a material;

[0190] - a surface characteristics; of the object.

[0191] Embodiment 17: The method according to any one of the three preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: ix. selecting an item of spectral reference information by considering the at least one item of meta object information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0192] Embodiment 18: The method according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: x. validating the selected item of spectral reference information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0193] Embodiment 19: The method according to any one of the two preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: xi. obtaining the at least one item of correction information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0194] Embodiment 20: The method according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: xii. validating the obtained at least one item of correction information by comparing the obtained at least one item of correction information to at least one predetermined value, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0195] Embodiment 21 : The method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: xiii. updating at least one item of current correction information on the spectrometer device with the obtained at least one item of correction information on the spectrometer device, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0196] Embodiment 22: A method for operating a spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

[0197] (1 ) performing a method for deriving at least one item of correction information according to the preceding Embodiments;

[0198] (2) illuminating the object with illumination light generated by using at least one light emitting element of the spectrometer device in order to generate detection light from the at least one object;

[0199] (3) detecting the detection light from the object by using at least one detector of the spectrometer device and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; and

[0200] (4) evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectral information on the object by using at least one evaluation unit, wherein at least one item of correction information is considered when deriving the item of spectral information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

[0201] Embodiment 23: A spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object by spectral measurement, wherein the spectrometer device is configured for performing the method according to any one of the preceding Embodiments.

[0202] Embodiment 24: The spectrometer device according to the preceding Embodiment referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the spectrometer device is configured for performing a method according to any one of the preceding method Embodiments. Embodiment 25: The spectrometer device according to any one of the preceding Embodiment referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the light emitting element is at least one of:

[0203] - a thermal radiator;

[0204] - a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based emitter;

[0205] - a laser, specifically a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), particularly emitting at least one wavelength in the infrared region;

[0206] - a light-emitting diode (LED), particularly o a LED emitting light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range and / or o a LED illuminating a phosphor for light-conversion of light generated by the LED, wherein the luminescent material generates converted light that is at least partly located in the near-infrared spectral range.

[0207] Embodiment 26: The spectrometer device according to any one of the preceding Embodiment referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the light emitting element is emitting visible light and / or infrared light.

[0208] Embodiment 27: The spectrometer device according to any one of the preceding Embodiments referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the at least one detector comprises a plurality of photosensitive elements sensitive to differing wavelength intervals.

[0209] Embodiment 28: The spectrometer device according to any one of the preceding Embodiments referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the spectrometer device further comprises at least one wavelength-selective element, wherein the wavelength-selective element is disposed in at least one of:

[0210] - a beam path of the illumination light; and

[0211] - a beam path of the detection light.

[0212] Embodiment 29: The spectrometer device according to the preceding Embodiment referring to a spectrometer device, wherein the at least one the wavelength-selective element is configured and / or arranged in a manner that at least two photosensitive elements of the plurality of photosensitive elements are each exposed to an individual and / or deviating spectral range of detection light.

[0213] Embodiment 30: An external device, wherein the external device is comprising a spectrometer device according to the preceding Embodiments referring to a spectrometer device. Embodiment 31 : A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the method Embodiments.

[0214] Embodiment 32: The computer program according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the computer is a spectrometer device, particularly the evaluation unit of the spectrometer device, according to any one of the preceding Embodiments referring to the spectrometer device.

[0215] Embodiment 33: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer- readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the method Embodiments.

[0216] Embodiment 34: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to the preceding Embodiment, wherein the computer is a spectrometer device, particularly the evaluation unit of the spectrometer device, according to any one of the preceding Embodiments referring to a spectrometer device.

[0217] Brief description of the figures

[0218] Further optional details and features of the invention are evident from the description of preferred exemplary embodiments which follows in conjunction with the dependent claims. In this context, the particular features may be implemented in an isolated fashion or in combination with other features. The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary embodiments are shown schematically in the figures. Identical reference numerals in the individual figures refer to identical elements or elements with identical function, or elements which correspond to one another with regard to their functions.

[0219] In the Figures:

[0220] Figure 1 shows an exemplary method for deriving at least one item of correction information;

[0221] Figure 2 shows an exemplary method for operating a spectrometer device; and

[0222] Figure 3 shows an exemplary spectrometer device for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object.

[0223] Detailed description of the embodiments Figure 1 shows an exemplary method 110 for deriving at least one item of correction information. The method 110 comprises the following steps: a) in a step 112, receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor 170 comprised by an external device 168 by using a connection interface 166 of the spectrometer device 162; b) in a step 114, comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device 162 for the spectrometer device 162, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0224] The spectrometer device 162 may be further comprised by the external device 168. The external device 168 may be or may comprise at least one of:

[0225] - a mobile device,

[0226] - a wearable, specifically a smartwatch,

[0227] - a table,

[0228] - a notebook.

[0229] The item of sensor information may be or may comprise at least one of:

[0230] - at least one item of movement pattern information on a movement pattern of the device;

[0231] - at least one item of visual characteristic information on a visual characteristic of the object 164;

[0232] - at least one item of spectral information on a measured spectrum of an object 164;

[0233] - at least one item of audio information on a measured audio of an environment of the device.

[0234] The external providing sensor 170 may be or may comprise at least one of:

[0235] - an acceleration sensor;

[0236] - a position sensor;

[0237] - a image generation unit;

[0238] - a detector 178;

[0239] - a magnetometer;

[0240] - a gyroscope;

[0241] - a step detection sensor;

[0242] - a rotation sensor;

[0243] - an inertial sensor;

[0244] - a LIDAR sensor;

[0245] - a proximity sensor;

[0246] - an audio recording unit, such as a microphone. The predetermined condition may be selected from at least one of:

[0247] - a movement pattern of the external device, particularly indicating at least one of: o that the external device is put down; o that the external device is picked up;

[0248] - a characteristic of at least one image generated by using the image generation unit, particularly at least one of: o a contrast of an image; o a color composition of an image;

[0249] - a characteristic of an item of spectral information generated by using the spectrometer device;

[0250] - starting to charge the external device;

[0251] - stopping to charge the external device.

[0252] The correction procedure may be started when the predetermined condition is met. The correction procedure may comprise an open port measurement procedure 116 for obtaining at least one item of open port measurement information, particularly comprising the following step: i. in an optional step 118, illuminating an object 164 free sample interface 181 of the spectrometer device 162 with illumination light 174 by using the at least one light emitting element 172 of the spectrometer device 162 in order to generate detection light 176;

[0253] II. in a step 120, detecting the, optionally detection, light 176 by using the at least one detector 178 of the spectrometer device 162 and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; ill. in a step 122, obtaining the at least one item of open port measurement information by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit 186.

[0254] The correction procedure comprises an object measurement procedure 124 for obtaining at least one item of measurement information on the object 164, particularly comprising the following step: iv. in a step 126, illuminating the object 164 with illumination light 174 by using the at least one light emitting element 172 of the spectrometer device 162 in order to generate detection light 176; v. in a step 128, detecting the detection light 176 from the object 164 by using the at least one detector 178 of the spectrometer device 162 and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; vi. in a step 130, obtaining the at least one item of measurement information on the object 164 by evaluating the at least one detector signal, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0255] The correction procedure may comprise the following step vii. in a step 132, obtaining at least one item of spectral information on the object 164 by evaluating the item of open port measurement information and / or the item of measurement information on the object 164, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0256] The correction procedure comprises the following step viii. in a step 134, obtaining at least one item of meta object information on the object 164, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0257] Obtaining the at least one item of meta object information may comprise at least one step of: in a step 136, prompting a user of the spectrometer device 162 in order to indicate the item of meta object information by using at least one prompting device; in a step 138, evaluating the item of sensor information from the external providing sensor 170 in order to obtaining information on the at least one item of meta object information; in a step 140, evaluating at least one item of presumed meta object information, wherein the item of presumed meta object information indicates for which object 164 the at least one item of measurement information might have been generated.

[0258] The item of meta object information may be selected from at least one of:

[0259] - a type;

[0260] - a material;

[0261] - a surface characteristics; of the object.

[0262] The correction procedure comprises the following step ix. in a step 142, selecting an item of spectral reference information by considering the at least one item of meta object information, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0263] The correction procedure may comprise the following step x. in a step 144, validating the, in the step 142, selected item of spectral reference information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0264] The correction procedure comprises the following step xi. in a step 146, obtaining the at least one item of correction information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to at least one item of spectral reference information, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0265] The correction procedure may comprise the following step xii. in a step 148, validating the, in the step 144, obtained at least one item of correction information by comparing the obtained at least one item of correction information to the at least one current item of correction information, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0266] The correction procedure may comprise the following step xiii. in a step 150, updating at least one item of current correction information on the spectrometer device 162 with the obtained at least one item of correction information on the spectrometer device 162, particularly by using the evaluation unit 186.

[0267] The at least one item of current correction information may be updated if at least one of:

[0268] - the selected item of spectral reference information is valid;

[0269] - the obtained the at least one item of correction information is valid.

[0270] In Figure 2, an exemplary method 152 of operating a spectrometer device 162 for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object 164 is disclosed, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

[0271] (1) in a step 154, performing a method for deriving at least one item of correction information as disclosed elsewhere herein;

[0272] (2) in a step 156, illuminating the object 164 with illumination light 174 generated by using at least one light emitting element 172 of the spectrometer device 162 in order to generate detection light 176 from the at least one object 164;

[0273] (3) in a step 158, detecting the detection light 176 from the object 164 by using at least one detector 178 of the spectrometer device 162 and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; and

[0274] (4) in a step 160, evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectral information on the object 164 by using at least one evaluation unit 186, wherein at least one item of correction information is considered when deriving the item of spectral information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit 186. In Figure 3, an exemplary spectrometer device 162 for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object 164 by spectral measurement is disclosed, wherein the spectrometer device 162 is configured for performing the method as disclosed elsewhere herein. The spectrometer device 162 may be comprised by an external device 168 comprising at least one external providing sensor 170.

[0275] The spectrometer device 162 may comprise: a. a connection interface 166 configured for receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor 170 comprised by an external device 168; b. at least one evaluation unit 186 configured for comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device for the spectrometer device 162.

[0276] The evaluation unit 186 may be comprised by the spectrometer device 162 (as depicted in Figure 3). Alternatively or in addition, the evaluation unit 186 may be comprised by at least one of: the external device 168; an external server. Consequently, the evaluation unit 186 may be split amongst several different devices.

[0277] Alternatively or in addition, the spectrometer device 162 may comprise: c. at least one light emitting element 172 configured for generating illumination light 174 in order to generate detection light 176; d. at least one detector 178 configured for detecting the detection light 176 and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal.

[0278] The illumination light 174 and / or the detection light 176 may transmit through a measurement window 180. The detection light 176 may be collected from a sample interface 182.

[0279] The detector 178 may comprise a plurality of photosensitive elements sensitive 184 to differing wavelength intervals. The light emitting element 172 may be at least one of:

[0280] - a thermal radiator;

[0281] - a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based emitter;

[0282] - a laser, specifically a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), particularly emitting at least one wavelength in the infrared region;

[0283] - a light-emitting diode (LED), particularly o a LED emitting light that is at least partially located in the infrared spectral range and / or o a LED illuminating a phosphor for light-conversion of light generated by the LED, wherein the luminescent material generates converted light that is at least partly located in the near-infrared spectral range. The light emitting element 172 may be emitting visible light and / or infrared light.

[0284] The spectrometer device 162 further may comprise at least one wavelength-selective element 188, wherein the wavelength-selective element is disposed in at least one of:

[0285] - a beam path of the illumination light 174; and

[0286] - a beam path of the detection light 176 (as exemplarily depicted).

[0287] The at least one the wavelength-selective element 188 may be configured and / or may be arranged in a manner that at least two photosensitive elements 184 of the plurality of photosensitive elements are each exposed to an individual and / or deviating spectral range of detection light 176.

[0288] Further, a computer program comprising instructions is disclosed (not depicted) which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as disclosed elsewhere herein. The computer may be a spectrometer device 162, particularly the evaluation unit 186 of the spectrometer device 162, as disclosed elsewhere herein.

[0289] Further, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is disclosed (not depicted), the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the as disclosed elsewhere herein. The computer may be a spectrometer device 162, particularly the evaluation unit 186 of the spectrometer device 162, as disclosed elsewhere herein.

[0290] List of reference numbers

[0291] 110 method for deriving at least one item of correction information

[0292] 112 receiving at least one item of sensor information

[0293] 114 comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition

[0294] 116 open port measurement procedure

[0295] 118 illuminating a free sample interface with illumination light

[0296] 120 detecting the detection light

[0297] 122 obtaining the at least one item of open port measurement information

[0298] 124 object measurement procedure

[0299] 126 illuminating the object with illumination light

[0300] 128 detecting the detection light

[0301] 130 obtaining the at least one item of measurement information on the object

[0302] 132 obtaining at least one item of spectral information

[0303] 134 obtaining at least one item of meta object information prompting a user of the spectrometer device to indicate information on the item of meta object information evaluating the item of sensor information evaluating at least one item of presumed meta object information selecting an item of spectral reference information validating the selected item of spectral reference information obtaining the at least one item of correction information validating the obtained at least one item of correction information updating at least one item of current correction information method for operating a spectrometer device performing a method for deriving at least one item of correction information illuminating the object with illumination light detecting the detection light from the object evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectral information spectrometer device object connection interface external device external providing sensor light emitting element illumination light detection light detector measurement window sample interface photosensitive element evaluation unit wavelength-selective element

Claims

Claims1 . A method for deriving at least one item of correction information, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) receiving at least one item of sensor information provided by at least one external providing sensor (170) comprised by an external device (168) by using a connection interface (166) of a spectrometer device (162); b) comparing the item of sensor information to at least one predetermined condition for starting a correction procedure in order to update an item of correction information on the spectrometer device (162) for the spectrometer device (162); wherein the correction procedure comprises an object measurement procedure for obtaining at least one item of measurement information on an object (164) by using the spectrometer device (162), wherein the correction procedure comprises the following steps: vii. obtaining at least one item of spectral information on the object by evaluating the at least one item of measurement information on the object (164); viii. obtaining at least one item of meta object information on the object (164); ix. selecting an item of spectral reference information by considering the at least one item of meta object information. xi. obtaining the at least one item of correction information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to the selected at least one item of spectral reference information, wherein the item of correction information is configured to compensate a deviation between the at least one item of spectral information and the selected at least one item of spectral reference information.

2. The method according to the preceding claim, wherein the item of sensor information is or comprises at least one of:- at least one item of movement pattern information on a movement pattern of the device;- at least one item of visual characteristic information on a visual characteristic of the object (164);- at least one item of audio information on a measured audio of an environment of the device.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein obtaining the at least one item of meta object information comprises at least one of: prompting a user of the spectrometer device (162) in order to indicate the item of meta object information by using at least one prompting device; evaluating the item of sensor information from the external providing sensor (170) in order to obtaining information on the at least one item of meta object information; evaluating at least one item of presumed meta object information, wherein the item of presumed meta object information indicates for which object (164) the at least one item of measurement information might have been generated.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: x. validating the selected at least one item of spectral reference information by comparing the at least one item of spectral information to the selected at least one item of spectral reference information.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: xii. validating the obtained at least one item of correction information by comparing the obtained at least one item of correction information to at least one predetermined value.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the correction procedure is comprising the following step: xiii. updating at least one item of current correction information on the spectrometer device (162) with the obtained at least one item of correction information on the spectrometer device (162).

7. A method for operating a spectrometer device (162) for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object (164), wherein the method comprises the following steps:(1 ) performing a method for deriving at least one item of correction information according to the preceding claims;(2) illuminating the object (164) with illumination light (174) generated by using at least one light emitting element (172) of the spectrometer device (162) in order to generate detection light (176) from the at least one object (164);(3) detecting the detection light (176) from the object (164) by using at least one detector (178) of the spectrometer device (162) and, thereby, generating at least one detector signal; and(4) evaluating the detector signal for obtaining the item of spectral information on the object (164) by using at least one evaluation unit, wherein at least one item of correction information is considered when deriving the item of spectral information, particularly by using at least one evaluation unit.

8. A spectrometer device (162) for obtaining at least one item of spectral information on at least one object (164) by spectral measurement, wherein the spectrometer device (162) is configured for performing the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

9. An external device (168), wherein the external device (168) is comprising a spectrometer device (162) according to the preceding claim.

10. A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the method claims.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the method claims.

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